


Coffee talk

by geeky_neanderthal



Category: The Good Doctor (TV 2017)
Genre: F/M, Neil x Claire
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-30
Updated: 2018-12-04
Packaged: 2019-09-01 14:45:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,672
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16767217
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/geeky_neanderthal/pseuds/geeky_neanderthal
Summary: 2x10 Quarantine fic for Melendaire since they were nowhere to be found in the promo... ;)Ok in this fic Melendaire is already a thing, like they aren't dating in this, but they have admitted their feelings to each other so you'll be getting some good content guys!this one is for my dope ass wife, Katie, hope this cheers you up ;)





	1. Shit shit shit!

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Snowblaze](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Snowblaze/gifts).



Claire wasn't quite sure how she ended up in the mess she was in.

One minute, she was consoling Neil after Andrews awarded the Chief of Surgery position to himself, which turned into a light-hearted banter between the two of them that seemed innocent enough at first. Then it was kind of a blur as to how she ended up against the wall of a broom closet with Melendez kissing her neck and holding her up by the waist. Was it when she put her hand on his shoulder or when he brushed her hair out of her face? Claire honestly couldn't have cared less as he took off her shirt and tossed it onto the ground. She unbuckled his belt, the two of them half-naked in a frenzy of passion. It was so spontaneous, but it lasted only a fleeting second as Andrews flung open the closet door and stared at them. He began yelling, saying all the things Claire feared people would say if they found out about what was going on between her and Melendez. Andrews' face became distorted, and so did Neil's. Her friend Kayla then appeared out of nowhere saying "You closed yourself off!" Claire spun around, unsure of what to do or where to go. Everyone began laughing, it was cruel, and just as Claire couldn't take it any longer... 

Beep, beep, beep! 

Ugh, Claire groaned as she sat up in her bed. She hated nightmares. She rubbed her eyes, trying to get her brain to rationalize everything she had just dreamt.

"Ok Claire, calm down," she assured herself, "No one's going to find out about you and Neil. Is there anything to find out? I mean, your relationship with him is beyond professional... but that doesn't mean you're actually dating! Oh my god... am I dating Melendez? You kissed him Claire, and you didn't even ask that, idiot!" She was becoming slightly delirious, still not out of her R-rated nightmare, when she looked at her alarm clock. 

Shit. Shit shit shit. Claire dashed around her apartment looking for her keys. She checked her watch. Shit again. She was supposed to be at St. Bonaventure's an hour ago. She was in such deep shit right now, she screamed as she finally found her keys and snatched them, dashing out to her car. She jammed the key into the ignition and sped off, finally getting to the hospital officially an hour and a half late. She was speed-walking, but she stopped when she observed her surroundings. Caution tape circling the doors, a radio call saying something about Dr. Murphy and Dr. Lim... hazmat suits?! She was looking around in a panic when a buzzing came from her purse. She grabbed her phone in a huff. She looked at the caller ID: Neil. Before she could even snap at him for deciding to call her work cell at the most inconvenient time, the voice on the other line spoke.

"Please tell me you're not in the hospital yet."

"What?" She could hear the seriousness in his voice and stopped dead in her tracks. 

"The hospital, tell me you're not in there!" He made it sound so urgent, which of course only made Claire even more curious as to what the situation was about. She walked a little further, her eyes darting from person to person, seeking out Neil.

"Why, what's going on here? Are you hurt? Are Shaun and Lim alright?" 

"I don't know, they won't let me in the building because of some kind of contamination, please just tell me you didn't get to work on time."

Wow. Of all days to be late, she picked a good one. She kept walking, then she finally saw Neil standing on the other side of the tape, once in conversation with an ambulance driver, but now locking eyes with Claire and beginning to walk towards her. She hung up her phone and navigated through the crowd towards him. She was almost jogging, as she ducked under the tape and they practically ran into each other, Neil running and hugging her as though she had almost died. He picked her up so her toes were just above the ground before putting her back down, the both of them laughing and thankful that the other was unharmed.

"I thought you had been infected, oh thank god you're alright," Neil sighed in relief. His voice was muffled since his face was buried in Claire's shoulder, but she could feel him smile. 

"I'm okay, I just overslept. What's going on?" Her eyebrows furrowed with worry as they released from their embrace.

"There's been some kind of breach, apparently. Even with my status here, they won't tell me who's hurt and who isn't, just that it's airborne."

"This is awful, poor Shaun must be having a hard time with all the noise and lights. We should wait here for them, he'll need a friend when all of this is over," Claire shook her head in disbelief. Melendez put his hand on her shoulder, nudging her to the side where they could talk out of earshot of everyone else.

"It's Park I'm worried about. His son is in there from what I hear." 

"Park has a son?!" Claire was shocked.

"Yeah. Poor guy hasn't seen his kid in ages, must be hard"

This day just kept getting crazier and crazier. Claire was rubbing her head, unsure of what to make of all of it. From her dream to her alarm, to the hospital going under quarantine, it seemed as though Claire's day just kept getting worse and worse. Neil, trying to keep his calm as well, saw the evident distress on Claire's face. 

"You look exhausted."

"Gee thanks," Claire huffed humorously, Neil chuckling before finishing his thought. 

"I meant, this all seems like a lot of stress. You want to go get some coffee and talk?" 

Claire thought about it for a minute. She didn't quite know where she stood with Melendez, but she was willing to find out. She knew it would damage her career if they dated publicly, but this was just coffee, it was innocent, right? So after evaluating the situation, she replied, "Sure." They walked over to Neil's car as he opened the passenger door for her. 

"After you, Dr. Browne." 

~~~

to be continued!


	2. Caffeine boost? Check!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ouuff can you believe it took me a whole chapter to actually get to the coffee talk part? lol whatever nobody's perfect
> 
> Chapter 3 coming soon, and HINT HINT: dreams do come true peeps ;)

Claire, having the worst, most stressful morning in a while, willingly let Neil choose the coffee shop. It was very quiet at the location he chose, and it was only a few blocks away from St. Bonaventure’s. How had she never been here? It was just a tiny little place, but it was beautiful. Claire closed her eyes, sighed, and took in the scent of coffee grounds as she walked through the door. It had been such a hectic morning, she had almost forgotten what it was like to feel relaxed. 

“I’ll take your strongest coffee please,” Claire groaned to the barista. If she was going to get through the rest of the day, she was going to need a serious caffeine boost. 

“Make that two,” Neil chuckled. Before Claire knew it, he was paying for her coffee. She began to pull out her wallet, but he insisted. 

“It’s on me, don’t worry about it.” 

“How sweet! Thank you,” she blushed. He looked down at his shoes nervously before he gestured to an empty table. 

“We could sit… if you like?” 

She nodded as they sat down at the table, Neil grabbing their coffees and putting them down. 

“How did you find this place?” Claire looked around, staring in wonder at the vines partially spread out over the window, the bookshelves everywhere, the rustic wooden floors. Everything about it was just stunning. 

“I’ll be honest, the first time I came here I thought it was a library. But over the years, I’ve come here too many times to count. They’re the only place I know that serves regular coffee, and not the whipped cream, rainbow-colored garbage most kids like these days. I’m old fashioned when it comes to coffee.” 

“I guess that transferred over to music too,” Claire replied under her breath, taking a sip of some of the strongest coffee she could imagine. Well, at least it would wake her up. 

“What did you say?” He teased, curious for the answer. 

“Nothing! It’s just…” she started, unsure of how to break the news to him.

“If you’ve got something to say, Browne, then say it,” Neil smirked. 

She laughed, “Well if you must know… your music taste is a little… outdated.”

“Outdated?”

“Yes, the music you played in the car made me think we had gone in an 80-year-old man’s car by accident.”

Melendez gasped in shock light-heartedly, “So you’re calling me old?!”

“No! Just your taste in music,” She cut herself off, “No, that’s worse. I just mean… maybe you should expand your horizons, that’s all.” 

He leaned over the table slightly and gave that smile he gave only Claire. Oh that damn smile, it drove Claire crazy. They locked eyes before he leaned back and replied, “Alright, fair point Browne.”

She giggled, the two of them drinking their coffee and continuing on to other things. Claire felt relieved that in all the craziness that some would call her life, Neil was there to help her feel better, to unwind from the intensity. They talked for what felt like a few minutes, but was really hours, before walking back to his car. Claire had called a cab so she could go visit her friend Kayla afterward. 

Before she got in the cab, Claire decided to take a risk and ask him what she had been dying to know since they kissed. 

“Can I ask you something?” She turned to face him, nervous about what she was going to say. 

“Of course.” 

“I wanted to know… where we stand. Ever since we.. you know… and well, both of our careers would be on the line if you and I… so I’m just asking now, if what you feel for me is real, or if you even feel anything at all? I mean, we kissed; that’s a pretty big deal. But I was just thinking maybe you had regrets, and if so how we handle that professiona--”

Melendez cut off Claire, placed his hand around the small of her back, and abruptly yet swiftly moved in and kissed her, everything else in the world melting away for one split second. It was intense and passionate, and she breathed in sharply through her nose, taken aback by it. His top lip lingered on her bottom lip for a second before pulling away. He looked down at her, the small yet noticeable height difference becoming a bit more apparent.

“Does that answer your question?”

“Yes,” she sighed, biting her lip and smiling. He let out a small laugh that was almost just a breathe.

“No regrets,” he said, as he held her cheek in his hand before kissing her forehead. 

She looked at him, suddenly very upset by the fact that she had to go. 

“I gotta go to lunch with Kayla, but I’ll see you when the hospital gets out of quarantine. We’ll continue this later?” 

“Definitely,” He chuckled, letting her get in the cab, walking backward slowly as the taxi driver drove away. He smiled to himself, and then left, reliving that kiss over and over in his mind. What could he say? He just really liked coffee.


	3. A Dream Come True (or nightmare?)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> 6 weeks after the quarantine was lifted, Claire comes to work in a very good mood :)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> there's a six-week time jump fyi, and this might get a little intense (code word for sexual lmao) towards the middle/end
> 
> final chapter guys, so hope u guys liked it !!

~ 6 weeks later ~ 

After weeks of work and a long process of finding antivirals and cures, the quarantine had been lifted, and almost everything was back to normal. Claire was thrilled beyond relief that Shaun and Morgan were alright. She couldn’t bear the thought of her friends getting harmed.

When Claire returned to work that Friday morning, she had very high spirits. She even brought in coffee for all the staff to snack on during the day. Although not from the shop she and Neil went to; that place would just remain theirs for the moment. But in general, she was just in a good mood.

This week, Claire was on Lim’s team. They got to work right away on all the patients they could help. After the quarantine, it felt nice to be able to do something. Claire hated feeling powerless, so being able to help out made her over the moon, even if it was pretty exhausting work. She was just about to deliver the folder containing a patient’s medical charts to Lim when she was pulled out of the hallway and into a broom closet by a familiar hand. Neil shut the closet door and smacked one passionate, sloppy kiss on Claire’s lips. She pulled back a bit because she was giggling and smiling so much. That only made him want her more. 

“What are we doing here? Not that I’m complaining,” Claire asked, getting a bit distracted by the fact that Melendez was taking off his white coat. He proceeded to fiercely kiss her, their faces almost smashing, until he pulled away slowly, “Okay, now I’m really not complaining,” She smiled. 

“God I missed you, I haven’t seen you all day.” The words came out of his mouth with laughter that was like one small breath. Claire wrapped her hand around his lower chin and stroked his cheek with her thumb. 

“I know. Lim’s had me on scutwork the whole morning. You can’t have me all to yourself, you know,” she teased. 

“Yeah well, I’ve never been good at sharing.” He leaned in and kissed her yet again fiercely, this time even hotter and heavier than before. Claire felt the tension building up, her breathing becoming heavier and fast-paced. It only took them two minutes for Neil to be tossing his scrubs onto the ground, and for Claire to be against the closet wall, legs wrapped around Neil’s waist. He moved his lips down to her neck as she ran her hands through his hair gently.

They were getting into it when Claire let out a small gasp and Melendez turned around when they heard the door fling open. It was as if Claire’s dream became reality (or nightmare for that matter). In the doorway stood a bemused Morgan, unsure of what to say. 

“... some asshole in the ER hurled all over me… I need a towel…” Morgan slowly informed them of her misfortune.   
Claire’s mouth was pressed shut as she awkwardly handed Morgan a dry towel to go clean the vomit off of her shirt. Morgan, still processing this all, slowly began to walk away, leaving Claire with a sliver of guilt. Morgan turned around to look at Melendez, then back to Claire. 

“You know,” she started, “I won’t tell anyone. Your secret's safe with me.” And with that, Morgan proceeded to go back to work. Neil and Claire sighed in relief, chuckling slightly. Claire was so sure that her nightmare was going to come true, but Morgan always found ways to surprise her.

It all worked out perfectly, Morgan coming through for Claire, her and Neil finally being an official couple, and the quarantine had lifted. It was all coming together to form one perfect day, causing Claire to smile from ear to ear. 

“What?” Neil looked at her and smiled back. Claire’s smile had that infectious effect.

“Nothing. It’s just, I’m happy that everything’s going well.” 

“Me too. It’s almost perfect…” he lingered on the word 'almost'.

“Almost?” Claire was a little skeptical.

“Well, there is one thing that would make this day a whole lot better,” Melendez said coyly with his eyebrows perked

“Oh yeah? And what’s that?” Claire giggled as she leaned closer into him, wrapping her arms around his shoulders. 

“I’m going to finish what we started,” he said simply, smiling slightly, and then propping her back up against the wall and kissing at her neck again. She smiled, more than happy to oblige as the two of them resumed what they had begun before Morgan interrupted. 

~The end! ~


End file.
